New moderators?

[ashbury]

After responding in the Burnout thread, I thought maybe it would be better to spin it off into its own thread, which more easily could be removed later on if we decide that's needed.
 

Should we consider adding some new mods?

That was my snap reaction too. A few specifics:

• Degree of engagement seems a key criterion. All-time posting frequencies can be seen in the Moderator CP, but I'd like to see a ranked list of the top, say, 20 posters in posting frequency these past 12 months. Brock, can you easily come up with that?
• DocBauer seems to embrace TD principles. Unknown is how he deals with stress, perhaps because he doesn't cause any. But learning to deal with ******** who call you a ************ when you infract them is a skill that can be taught. Mentored, even.
• Spycake's another.

[Squirrel]

Being critical is different than being negative. Twins fans have a lot to critical of, imo, and should be allowed to express themselves, including owners and other contributing writers. There really has been little name calling or disrespect thrown at one another just a lot of critical disappointment which I think is deserved at this point. And maybe there is some lack of patience in some of this, but sheesh, we've been patient for how many years now? I guess I don't blame posters if they can't wait until spring to be disappointed.

 

As glunn said ... there isn't anything to infract. And if there is little to infract, I don't think we need to go looking for it.

 

If we are going to moderate to make posters be 'happy' and 'positive', then we've missed the boat on moderation.

 

My wanting to be done with all of this is a direct correlation to the team itself. I don't want to moderate a website when I don't really care much about why the website exists ... to talk about the Twins. Fix the Twins and it's much easier to discern truly negative and whatever, from critical. Unfortunately, the Twins are not going to be fixed soon. They aren't going to be better than last year ... even with or without positional flexibility or business know-how.

 

Not sure we need more moderators. I'll leave that up to what others here think, including owners.

 

And I don't think Doc Bauer should be held up as a shining example of the type of poster that we want others to be like. I honestly can't stand his posts and often skip over them as tl;dnr and a tad predictable and boring, but that is purely an individual preference.

[glunn]

In a perverse way I miss the days when I could find at least one or two infractions per hour of searching.

 

By creating and enforcing boundaries (and a culture of civility) perhaps we have become Maytag repair people?

 

I also totally see Carole's point, but because I am older than her I keep coming back in the hope of one more good run before I go to the forum in the sky (or that other place).

 

 

[nicksaviking]

If a search for new mods is a result of my proclamation in the burnout thread, I’m not gone, I’ve just stopped posting for a bit as it’s just been so frustrating.

 

I wouldn’t think the workload would require new mods but if you guys think we need some new blood to freshen things up or to allow others to step back that’s fine. I’m guessing the site-wide malaise will lift once spring trading rolls around, though likely not the negativity.

[ashbury]

If a search for new mods is a result of my proclamation in the burnout thread, I’m not gone, I’ve just stopped posting for a bit as it’s just been so frustrating.

I think it was two mods expressing similar states of mind, and Glunn offering a caring remedy.

 

It's better to address burnout symptoms early than to wait until they are full-blown. Saying "I'm OK" to be polite, only to have to later say, "oops, no, I'm not OK," would not be a good outcome.

 

OTOH there's no urgency to add someone. The workload recently has been low.

[nicksaviking]

I wouldn’t begrudge anyone else from drifting away from the site, but for the record, that’s probably not something any of you would have to worry about (or celebrate) with me. I tend to be one of the last rats off the ship once Im committed. I’m the guy who still sees a TV show to the end even though seasons be 5-10 have been utter crap.

[USAFChief]

Spycake would be my nomination, if we add someone.

 

 

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'd second Spycake. He's a good guy. I don't know if we need any new mods.. .guess I don't see a high volume of work at the moment, as the site has been pretty stable...

 

Other names Jorgenwest woudl be a guy I could get behind. I'd have said Vanimal at some point too, but I think he's as burnt out on this team as we are. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

This moderation crew was born from the game threads... We need to out content the other content.

 

The room will follow. 

This is actually a really good idea... but not from us.

 

We need new moderators. Let's face it, most of us have been doing it for a long time. We love the game, we love the site, but we don't have the fire to do the work we did five years ago.

 

So let's talk moderators. Any good candidates?

[Riverbrian]

 

This is actually a really good idea... but not from us.

 

We need new moderators. Let's face it, most of us have been doing it for a long time. We love the game, we love the site, but we don't have the fire to do the work we did five years ago.

 

So let's talk moderators. Any good candidates?

 

In my opinion... Spycake is the most obvious choice. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

In my opinion... Spycake is the most obvious choice. 

I second but I don't know if he'd do it.

 

But he'd be my first choice 11 times out of 10.

 

Hell, I'm going to message him now because it's such an obvious choice and I don't think he'll even accept.

[Squirrel]

His name has come up before and I don't think there is anyone here who would object. Good call to just message him.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

This is actually a really good idea... but not from us.

 

We need new moderators. Let's face it, most of us have been doing it for a long time. We love the game, we love the site, but we don't have the fire to do the work we did five years ago.

 

So let's talk moderators. Any good candidates?

 

I agree on spy.. I'd add wysnydes to that list too. 

[Squirrel]

 

I agree on spy.. I'd add wysnydes to that list too. 

wsnydes ... hmm ... I know he posts frequently, he just doens't ... 'stand out' ... to me.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

wsnydes ... hmm ... I know he posts frequently, he just doens't ... 'stand out' ... to me.

 

He's a pretty good guy from what I can tell. He stays out trouble. He's one of the good contributors to game threads when he shows up. 

 

He doesn't stand out to you b/c he's a dog person

[ashbury]

If you are looking for fire, then a list of the most frequent posters would be helpful. I'd want to see separate lists for game threads and regular threads - different dynamics and a mod needs to be active (and good) in either.

 

PS concur on spycake

[nicksaviking]

Yeah can’t object with spycake.

 

And I’ll also double my efforts to get into the game threads. After the kids are in bed at least.

[Squirrel]

Just bumping this ... because ...

[Squirrel]

Han Joelo is another name I'd throw out there.

[ashbury]

Just bumping this ... because ...

I'd be in favor of moving the recent new-mod discussion posts to this thread, from the Game Threads Are Awful topic, as I think they are suitably self-contained as to not depend on that thread for context. But because I'm not online much this week, I won't take that initiative right now.

 

[ashbury]

If you are looking for fire, then a list of the most frequent posters would be helpful. I'd want to see separate lists for game threads and regular threads - different dynamics and a mod needs to be active (and good) in either.

I revisited John Bonnes's week-in-review post from last week, and spotted Don Walcott's name. He seems to like the game threads, but doesn't post exclusively there, and I think he's been a pretty good contributor - which checks several boxes for me. Hadn't been on my radar before, so I don't have a stronger opinion than that to share - I'll start scrutinizing his every word from here on. In particular I think it's worth knowing how they react when someone disputes them, and it would take some time to track that down - I could pick a fight with him but posters tend to be more circumspect with moderators than with others.

 

Most of the names listed were heavily weighted toward game-thread-only members, which I think to be more of a negative than a positive. I'd still like to see tallies separated, as I mentioned earlier.

[Squirrel]

 

I'd be in favor of moving the recent new-mod discussion posts to this thread, from the Game Threads Are Awful topic, as I think they are suitably self-contained as to not depend on that thread for context. But because I'm not online much this week, I won't take that initiative right now.

So moved.

[Squirrel]

 

If you are looking for fire, then a list of the most frequent posters would be helpful. I'd want to see separate lists for game threads and regular threads - different dynamics and a mod needs to be active (and good) in either.
 

I don't think people should be eliminated for not being a frequent poster. If posting frequency is a requirement then our list gets weighted with, well, Mike Sixel. I didn't post much when I became a moderator. I knew the site inside and out and read everything and added a bit here and there, but I wasn't a frequent poster. And even now, my post totals are as high as they are mostly from posting in this forum. I want to look for quality of content and quality of poster, not post totals, separated or otherwise. If we want a fresh approach and fresh eyes, I think we need to look beyond quantity and look for quality.

 

My two cents. And that said. I like spycake not for how often he posts, but for how he says what he says, and how he argues and disagrees, how he chooses to make his points. And he has some personality, isn't just a baseball nerd poster.

[Squirrel]

I've been impressed with bighat so far. He's 'newer-ish', but I like him.

[ashbury]

I've been impressed with bighat so far. He's 'newer-ish', but I like him.

My initial impression (there we go with that again) was he came here with a chip on his shoulder about analytics and was dismissive of others, but maybe he's better now, I tend to ignore him dismissively.

[ashbury]

I don't think people should be eliminated for not being a frequent poster. If posting frequency is a requirement then our list gets weighted with, well, Mike Sixel. I didn't post much when I became a moderator. I knew the site inside and out and read everything and added a bit here and there, but I wasn't a frequent poster. And even now, my post totals are as high as they are mostly from posting in this forum. I want to look for quality of content and quality of poster, not post totals, separated or otherwise. If we want a fresh approach and fresh eyes, I think we need to look beyond quantity and look for quality.

 

My two cents. And that said. I like spycake not for how often he posts, but for how he says what he says, and how he argues and disagrees, how he chooses to make his points. And he has some personality, isn't just a baseball nerd poster.

Obviously frequency is not by itself a good thing, and I didn't recommend Sixel. I just look for a level of commitment, which posting frequency can indicate.

 

OK, I was online longer than I expected this morning, but I'm departing now, so I'll respond any further when/if I can.

[Squirrel]

 

Obviously frequency is not by itself a good thing, and I didn't recommend Sixel. I just look for a level of commitment, which posting frequency can indicate.

 

OK, I was online longer than I expected this morning, but I'm departing now, so I'll respond any further when/if I can.

I don't think you can equate commitment to number of posts. People have joined at different times. The only thing the site can give us is a post total. Someone here for two years having posted 2000 times vs someone here for 6 years having posted the same. I just think it's not a great criterion and doesn't measure anything other than post total.

[stringer bell]

Spycake is good. Do you guys know him personally? I'm asking because some people's lives aren't at the point where they can add the commitment of being a moderator.

 

As for Bighat, I've found him disagreeable a couple of times, certainly not a disqualifier, but I think others have been better suited to moderating, such as Don Walcott.

[nicksaviking]

As Carole implied, it's probably hard to gauge if they visit the site infrequently or just post infrequently.

 

Either way, it feels like we're looking for new blood to keep this fresh and for new eyes on the game threads. Workload doesn't appear to be a big issue, so I don't see any problem with someone who's not checking in constantly. I don't think we need to be looking to fill a full time job opening.

[Squirrel]

 

Spycake is good. Do you guys know him personally? I'm asking because some people's lives aren't at the point where they can add the commitment of being a moderator.

 

As for Bighat, I've found him disagreeable a couple of times, certainly not a disqualifier, but I think others have been better suited to moderating, such as Don Walcott.

I guess I find Don, along with wsnydes, to be kind of  ... well ... bland. The reason we are looking is to get more numbers to turn around the game threads from overly negative, drive by type posters, taking over the threads. Getting people who can respond to those posters and drown their noise. And yes, then they have to be a moderator, too. So, given that is a primary, I'm looking for someone who can inject themselves into situations and add something in the process.

 

I think we're seeing a very wide gap in what we see is important in a moderator. I'm looking for personality more than anything else. Not someone who can tow the straight and narrow and be a 'policeman'. I'd also really like to hear from Tom and the site owners ... how is it they see moderation for the site going forward. We are in a very different place now than we once were, and maybe moderation and moderators needs to be more ... well, less sticklers for rules (not that we throw rules out the window) but more, I don't know ... more personalities. I guess we all kind of are that anyway. But I'd still like to hear what they want.

 

As for spycake, I don't know him personally. Brock already PM'd him ... I think. Did he hear back yet?